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Canadian peacekeeper killed in Lebanon described war in email
Ottawa (AFP) Jul 27, 2006 Days before an Israeli air strike destroyed his UN base in El Khiam, a Canadian soldier likely killed in the attack warned of bombs smashing nearby, but refused to chastise Israel. "We have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both artillery and aerial bombing," Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener said in an email to broadcaster CTV on July 18, posted on its website on Thursday. "The closest artillery has landed within two meters of our position and the closest 1000 lb aerial bomb has landed 100 meters from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity," he said. Hess-von Kruedener was serving as an unarmed UN military observer at the base, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from where the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli borders meet. His mission, he said in the email, was to report ceasefire violations and support the UNSC resolution 1559. The observation post was built in 1972, destroyed in a 1976 conflict between Lebanese Army and the PLO, and rebuilt in 1978. The region has been the main axis for invasion into Lebanon and Palestinian Territories, he said. Tuesday, a precision-guided aerial bomb destroyed his base, killing three UN observers from China, Austria and Finland. Hess-von Kruedener was "missing and presumed dead," said Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday. In his correspondence, the Canadian peacekeeper described fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah as "by far the most spectacular and intensive" in his nine months in Lebanon. The United Nations had halted routine patrols of the region because it was "not safe to venture out," he said. "It appears that the lion's share of fighting between the IDF (Israeli forces) and Hezbollah has taken place in our area. On the night of 16 July, at 2125 hours, a large firefight broke out between the Hezbollah and the IDF near a village called Majidyye and lasted for one hour and 40 minutes," he wrote. Hess-von Kruedener refused to provide information about the proximity of Hezbollah to the base or the frequency of Israeli flights spotted overhead. "Suffice to say that the activity levels and operational tempo of both parties is currently very high and continuous, with short breaks or pauses," he said. "Please understand the nature of my job here is to be impartial and to report violations from both sides without bias. As an unarmed military observer, this is my raison d'etre," he said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Nuclear Space Technology at Space-Travel.com
Israel warplanes strike Lebanon, kill three
Beirut (AFP) Jul 27, 2006 Israeli warplanes carried out new air strikes Thursday on Hezbollah strongholds in south Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley to the east of the capital, killing three people, police said. |
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